Anti-4/20 movement calls for suits, ties at CU-Boulder on Friday

A reveler lights up at the 4/20 smokeout on the University of Colorado campus last year.
(
MARTY CAIVANO
)

More than 350 University of Colorado students had RSVP'd by Wednesday evening to a Facebook event encouraging students to wear a suit and tie to campus and around Boulder on Friday to protest the 4/20 smokeout.

The event description states: "4/20 is a well known date for students of CU. Thousands of people flood Norlin Quad and smoke marijuana. For some students it's not a huge deal, for others it's a disgrace."

The event, titled "Stay Classy CU," was started by junior Andrew Trujillo, who said he created the Facebook page in early April but that people began flocking to the page Wednesday, two days before 4/20. The unofficial campus smokeout has attracted crowds up to 10,000 on April 20 to smoke marijuana and promote legalization.

"I don't know what happened, but we had about 190 people going last night on Facebook and then today it's basically doubled," Trujillo said.

The group is not meant to stand against legalization or the use of marijuana, Trujillo said, but to encourage students not to use the substance in public, which gives employers and others a negative view of CU students.

"I had a friend who went to New Zealand and she said they knew about 4/20 in Boulder, so I figure if they know, so do employers," Trujillo said.

He said wearing professional business attire is a great way to show employers and the rest of the world that CU students can be "classy" and respectable and aren't all "potheads like you see on the news on 4/20."

CU Student Government president Andrew Yoder wrote on the page: "This is an awesome idea! I fully support you guys."

CU freshman Bradley Steinmeyer said the campus is full of students who share Trujillo's views about 4/20, but until now there hasn't been an organized movement or presence.

"I've never been supportive of 4/20," Steinmeyer said. "I think it's embarrassing for the campus."

Steinmeyer said he disagrees with the way the university is handling the crackdown this year, but the movement gives students who are against 4/20 a place to respectfully protest the smokeout.

Freshman Jeff Carlson said 4/20 was an unattractive quality for CU when he was considering colleges.

"I'm tired of people assuming that I smoke marijuana simply because I'm a student at CU," Carlson said. "By suiting up on Friday, I'm standing up to that stereotype."

Senior Rachel Baer said as a soon-to-be-graduate, she's proud to be part of the new movement.

"I think it's a great idea because it puts the respect back into our degrees that they deserve," Baer said.

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